Story:Star Trek: Conflict/Battle in the Clouds
Edward Shield and Lianna Young must remove a tyrannical Federation directorate on the planet . :This episode is a follow-up of . Summary Chapter One Edward Shield is having some difficulty with the latest addition to his crew. Her Klingon behavior offends the human crewmen, most of them who either had family members who were killed by Klingons during the 23rd century or, like Rookwood, who hate Klingons for what they did to their people. He visits her in her quarters and tries to tell her that she needs to work with the crew in order for their next assignment to work. The argument escalates into a fight, during which Shield subdues her. Impressed by his strength, she relents. As he leaves, she secretly says that he would be a fine mate. On the Bridge, he is explaining the mission with Lianna Young, who is visiting from the . She tells him that Y'Radu is in control, since she doesn't trust Nox after his little mutiny of the ship recently, which explains her presence here. Then he tells her about the nature of their mission: he attempts to show his true nature to a Federation colony on the borders of Federation space which is suffering from a series of epidemics. Due to the minerals, mostly zenite, which are easily accessible on , a Federation member planet, they will stop there to get those antigens and bring them to the ailing colonies as a gesture of goodwill. Young says that this won't be easy. She had been researching the history of before she came onboard the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C)|''Enterprise-C]] - from first contact in the 22nd century to the intervention by James T. Kirk in the 23rd century - and she says that the Federation has invested much in and that it might already be under Order 865. Shield says that its a risk that must be taken, since they haven't been doing very well in their conflicts against the corrupt Federation. Chapter Two The ''Enterprise'' and the ''Admonitor'' arrive in orbit over . Unfortunately, their scans conclude that its capitol city, , is currently the headquarters of a Federation directorate. Fearing that this might be another Titan raid incident, Shield and Young discuss whom to send down in order to negotiate the delivery of their supplies. Young says that she will send Nox first, since she doesn't trust him aboard her ship anymore. Shield agrees to go down also, and takes K'hallA with him. This is a bad idea from the start. As soon as the party beams down and K'hallA sees Nox, they get into a fight. He takes out his Romulan dagger, and she her d'k tagh, and both green and pink blood is shed. Shield interrupts by stunning Nox with his phaser. But as he turns to K'hallA, they are attacked by Federation guards: but they aren't just any normal guards, these are Admiral Sanders' elite legion of bodyguards; but these MACOs are more like the Gestapo in their appearance, armor and symbol (the United Federation of Planets flag, but with a red background and a black swastika over the globe). K'hallA puts up a fight and is able to escape with her life, but Shield is captured. He is then taken up to for processing. While she makes her getaway, in truth preparing for another strike, K'hallA is attacked by a group of slaves. They take her to their leader, a middle-aged man named Dedaren. He instantly recognizes that this is a new species he has never seen, and asks his people to treat her with respect. He then offers her some food - very poor food, and no live animals (which Klingons do love) - and then introduces himself as the leader of the Trog-rebellion. When she does not comprehend this, Dedaren tells her about the history of his people: that several hundred years ago, a group of the poorest and most lowly of his people were kept on the surface while the rich built in the clouds. Only a hundred years ago, a Starfleet captain named James T. Kirk discovered that the poor people, who became cave-dwelling minorities called "troglytes" who lived as slaves to the Cloud-dwellers, were being mentally affected by an invisible gas produced by the minerals they mined. With the help of his Federation, he had gas masks made that would filter out the noxious substances. However, this did not change the situation. The Cloud-dwellers were still favored by the Federation, and no "troglyte" representative was ever allowed off-planet or to even come in contact with the Federation. He tells K'hallA that his mother, , who was betrayed by the High Administrator of who never kept his word to help her people, was killed by Commodore Gardner, who was the "boss" of the directorate. He further says that they have damned the name of James T. Kirk, who did nothing but to "make our prison comfortable, rather than truly freeing us". Meanwhile, Edward Shield has been taken to . Here he meets with the directorate, a weak, impotent man who is constantly being watched on his viewscreen by Commodore Gardner, who barks out his orders. When Gardner sees Shield, he congratulates the directorate for doing something right for once. He then addresses Shield and tells him that he will take Black's old position once he has delivered him to Admiral Sanders...dead. Chapter Three Nox wakes up from the stun blast to find himself completely alone. As he looks about, he sees no signs of any assault but he does hear noises. Making his way silently toward the noise, he finds a large canyon filled with humanoids. Their leader (Dedaren) is rallying them for some attack: an attack on Stratos. He tells them that their time has come to do what the "Disruptors" never could do: to save their people from the tyranny of Stratos and its Federation allies and ground the city permanently. Nox sees K'hallA with them, and sees that Dedaren is using her as an example of free, warrior people "from the stars" who have come to aid them. But he does not see the Captain with them at all. He conjectures that he is being held captive aboard this "Stratos" city since it is apparently allied with the Federation. However, he knows next to nothing about it. Taking one of the "Trogs", he allows T'Mar's katra to take control and mind-melds with the "Trog". He learns about the social structure of Stratos and the frequent group of slaves bearing supplies who are beamed onto the city. The plan, as he hears from the crowd, is to use a captured security card to get their group beamed into the city proper and ransack it. Using some dirt from the ground and taking the subdued "Trog"'s gas mask and rags, Nox plans to blend in with the others in their attack. He keeps his clothes with him hidden, in addition to his shot-gun. Meanwhile, on Stratos city in the Federation directorate's command center, they detect the oncoming army of "Trogs". The High Advisor wants to use the city's phaser emplacements to destroy them. Gardner, however, has another plan in mind: he tells the directorate to leave, since he's obviously failed again. He further says that if the "rebels" actually reach the city, he is to destroy it. Chapter Four The High Advisor says that no matter how much the Cloud-dwellers hate the "troglytes", destroying their wonderful city is a low they refuse to stoop to. The directorate says that the Federation is responsible for bringing stability to their planet, and that to disobey them would be to join the rebels. The Advisor says that his first loyalties are to his people, then to the Federation. The directorate kills him on the spot. None of the normal activities of the Cloud-dwellers are disturbed by this, since they accept public executions. The directorate then takes full control of Stratos and declares a state of emergency, during which everyone will prepare to abandon the city. It is at this time that the Trog-rebels reach the city. Using the security codes they stole, they were beamed into the middle of the city and chaos ensued as they attacked the Federation troops. During the chaos, Edward Shield escapes from his captivity and tries to find the others. He meets Nox, who suggests that they beam back to the USS Admonitor without K'hallA. Shield refuses and opts to stay behind and find her, even though Nox beams out without him. Chapter Five Rushing through the fighting, Shield searches for his missing Klingon. After several minutes of futile searching, he learns that she has accompanied the leader of the rebels to the directorate's office. Once again, Shield rushes into the battle and attempts to find her before something happens. As he reaches the office and begins fighting his way up the levels, he gets a transmission from Lianna Young: the USS Vindicator has entered orbit, commanded by Commodore Gardner, and has begun powering up weapons to bombard the planet. She has moved the Admonitor out of range, but the Enterprise-C is a sitting duck unless he beams out immediately. Shield says that she should get the Enterprise out immediately, since it is more use alive than dead, and that he is trapped on this planet anyhow. After sealing his own doom, he reaches the top-level, where he finds Dedaren killing the directorate and taking control of the planet and what is left of Stratus City. Just at that moment, the Vindicator begins bombarding both the city and the planet. Category:Star Trek: Conflict Episodes Category:Story Arc: Shield and K'hallA